

Ellen Burstyn
Actor · Director · ProducerEllen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". She has also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. Burstyn made her acting debut on Broadway in Fair Game in 1957 before winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Same Time, Next Year (1975). She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress as the widow Alice Hyatt in Martin Scorsese's romantic drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in The Last Picture Show (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Resurrection (1980), and Requiem for a Dream (2000). Her other notable films include Harry and Tonto (1974), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), W. (2008), Interstellar (2014), The Age of Adaline (2015), and Pieces of a Woman (2020). She won Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest role in the NBC legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) and supporting role in the USA Network political miniseries Political Animals (2013). Her other Emmy-nominated roles include Pack of Lies (1988), Mrs. Harris (2005), Big Love (2008), Draft Day, Flowers in the Attic (both 2014), and House of Cards (2016). Since 2000, she has been co-president of the Actors Studio, a drama school in New York City. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for her work onstage.
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KNOWN FOR
FILMOGRAPHY
ACTOR146

Duse, the Greatest
2025

Breakdown: 1975
2025
Self

This Ordinary Thing
2025
Self (voice)

Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
2024
Self

Mother, Couch
2024
Mother

E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump
2024
E. Jean Carroll

The Exorcist: Believer
2023
Chris MacNeil

Three Months
2022
Valerie

Queen Bees
2021
Helen Wilson

Watch on the Rhine
2021
Fanny

Paul Newman, Behind Blue Eyes
2021
Herself

Pieces of a Woman
2020
Elizabeth Weiss

Delphine and Carole
2020
Self (archive footage)

The House of Tomorrow
2019
Josephine Prendergast

Lucy in the Sky
2019
Nana Holbrook

American Woman
2019
Miss Dolly

Steven Arnold: Heavenly Bodies
2019
Self

The Tale
2018
Nettie

Nostalgia
2018
Helen Greer

All I Wish
2018
Celia Berges

Friedkin Uncut
2018
Self

Marilyn Monroe: Auction of a Lifetime
2017
Self

Wiener-Dog
2016
Nana

Custody
2016
Beatrice Fisher

The Age of Adaline
2015
Flemming

About Scout
2015
Gram

Unity
2015
Narrator (voice)

Interstellar
2014
Murph (older)

Draft Day
2014
Barb Weaver

Flowers in the Attic
2014
Grandmother

River of Fundament
2014
Hathfertiti

And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
Self - Interviewee

The Calling
2014
Emily Micallef

Two Men in Town
2014
Mère Garnett

Petals on the Wind
2014
Olivia Foxworth

Love, Marilyn
2013
Self

Wish You Well
2013
Louisa Mae Cardinal

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
2012
Nanette

The Mighty Macs
2011
Mother St. John

Another Happy Day
2011
Doris Baker

Main Street
2010
Georgiana Carr

Reflections of a Philosopher King
2010
Self

BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
2010
Self
- America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
2010
Self

According to Greta
2009
Katherine

The Velveteen Rabbit
2009
Swan (voice)

Lovely, Still
2009
Mary

PoliWood
2009
Self

W.
2008
Barbara Bush

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
2008
Miss Addie

Mitch Albom's For One More Day
2007
Pauline "Posey" Benetto

The Stone Angel
2007
Hagar

The Fountain
2006
Dr. Lillian Guzetti

The Wicker Man
2006
Sister Summersisle

The Elephant King
2006
Diana Hunt

Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow
2006
Self

30 Days
2006
Maura

Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
2006
Self

Mrs. Harris
2006
Former Tarnower Steady

Our Fathers
2005
Mary Ryan

The Five People You Meet In Heaven
2004
Ruby

The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel
2004
Tommie

Second Chances: The Making of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
2004
Self

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
2003
Self

Brush with Fate
2003
Rika

A Decade Under the Influence
2003
Self

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
2002
Vivi

Red Dragon
2002
Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)

Within These Walls
2001
Joan Thomas

Memories, Dreams & Addictions
2001
Self

The Making of Requiem for a Dream
2001
Self

Requiem for a Dream
2000
Sara Goldfarb

The Yards
2000
Val Handler

Mermaid
2000
Trish

Walking Across Egypt
1999
Mattie Rigsbee

Night Ride Home
1999
Maggie

The Last Picture Show: A Look Back
1999
Self

Playing by Heart
1998
Mildred

The Patron Saint of Liars
1998
June Clatterbuck

The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
1998
Self - Chris MacNeil

Marilyn in Manhattan
1998
Self

You Can Thank Me Later
1998
Shirley Cooperberg

Deceiver
1997
Mook

Flash
1997
Laura Strong

A Deadly Vision
1997
Yvette Watson

The Spitfire Grill
1996
Hannah Ferguson

Timepiece
1996
Maud Gannon

How to Make an American Quilt
1995
Hy Dodd

The Baby-Sitters Club
1995
Mrs. Haberman
- My Brother's Keeper
My Brother's Keeper
1995
Helen

Roommates
1995
Judith

Follow The River
1995
Gretel

When a Man Loves a Woman
1994
Emily

Getting Gotti
1994
Jo Giacalone

Trick of the Eye
1994
Frances Griffin

Getting Out
1994
Arlie's Mother

The Cemetery Club
1993
Esther Moskowitz

Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story
1993
Joan Delvecchio
- Roots of Roe
Roots of Roe
1993
Narrator (voice)

Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story
1992
Wilma

Earth and the American Dream
1992
Reader (voice)

When It Was a Game 2
1992
Passage Narrator (voice)

Dying Young
1991
Mrs. O'Neil

Grand Isle
1991
Mademoiselle Reisz

Picture This
1991
Self

Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
1991
Lillian "Lil" Lambert

When You Remember Me
1990
Nurse Cooder

The Color of Evening
1990
Kate O'Rielly
- Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
1989
Self

Hello Actors Studio
1988
Self

Hanna's War
1988
Katalin

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
1987
Mrs. Stocks (voice)

Pack of Lies
1987
Barbara Jackson

Act of Vengeance
1986
Margaret Yablonski

Something in Common
1986
Lynn Hollander

Twice in a Lifetime
1985
Kate MacKenzie

The Ambassador
1985
Alex Hacker

Surviving
1985
Tina Brogan

Night of 100 Stars II
1985
Self

Into Thin Air
1985
Joan Walker

I Love Liberty
1982
Self

Night of 100 Stars
1982
Self

People vs. Jean Harris
1981
Jean Harris

Silence of the North
1981
Olive Frederickson

Be Pretty and Shut Up!
1981
Self

Resurrection
1980
Edna

Same Time, Next Year
1978
Doris

A Dream of Passion
1978
Brenda Collins

Providence
1977
Sonia Langham

Harry and Tonto
1974
Shirley Mallard
- The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
1974
Self (archive footage)

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
1974
Alice Hyatt

Thursday's Game
1974
Lynne Evers

The Exorcist
1973
Chris MacNeil

The King of Marvin Gardens
1972
Sally

The Last Picture Show
1971
Lois Farrow

Alex in Wonderland
1970
Beth Morrison

Tropic of Cancer
1970
Mona (uncredited)

Pit Stop
1969
Ellen McCleod

Goodbye Charlie
1964
Franny Salzman

For Those Who Think Young
1964
Dr. Pauline Swenson

Ricochet
1961
Rose Maxon
- The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Tree
1958
Elizabeth

Easy Out?
1948
Mary
- Bathing Flo
Bathing Flo
- Place to Be
Place to Be
Brooke





